Hulkenberg ponders 'easier' F1

This year's new regulations may have made life a little easier for Formula 1's rookie drivers, that's according to Nico Hulkenberg.

This season three new drivers found a place on the F1 grid of which only one, Marcus Ericsson, came from GP2.

McLaren's Kevin Magnussen booked his place with a victory in the Formula Renault 3.5 while Toro Rosso signed Daniil Kvyat straight from GP3, which he won.

Of the three, Magnussen and Kvyat, have both shown great form at times leading Hulkenberg to speculate that maybe this year's new regulations have made cars easier to adapt to.

"I wonder whether it has become easier coming into Formula 1 as a rookie with the new regulations and how the cars are now," he told Autosport.

"I'm not sure. It's quite obvious there's Kvyat, Magnussen - a lot of young people come in and straight away they're on top of their team-mates and doing really well.

"I'm not saying they're bad drivers - they're pretty good drivers I think. But I remember when I came in, my first year as a rookie was a bit tougher.

"I don't know if they're just that much better or if things have become easier.

"If you're a driver who has been in Formula 1 for 10 years then yes, experience is a very good thing to have, but maybe some of that experience is not so valid now, so some of the advantage is gone because of that."

As for Kvyat, the Toro Rosso rookie says there are a lot of things in Formula 1 that a new driver has to get used to.

He told Autosport: "There are lots of things in Formula 1 that I am still learning, like the downforce and setting up the car for the race and so on

"There are many, many things to play around with: pressures, flaps, balance and so on. For me, it's been going in a good direction."